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... kings of Israel were too busy fighting amongst themselves. Syria, to the northwest of Assyria, was not a threat to Assyrian expansion ... kingdoms of the former Hittite empire. Turning back south to Syria and then heading west to the city-states of Phoenicia, he subdued the ...

The Assyrian empire, with the death of King Ashurbanipal, was collapsing under the weight of politics and war. Kingdoms and leaders previously held in Assyria’s great grasp fell upon the vulnerable empire, retaking land and gaining power.

Much of Assyria's history is closely tied to its southern neighbor, Babylonia. The two Mesopotamian empires spoke similar languages and worshipped most of the same gods. They were often rivals on the battlefield for influence in the ancient Middle East.

The history of Assyria spans mainly from about 2000 BC, when the cities of Nineveh and Calah were founded, to the destruction of Nineveh in 606 BC.

... was found in 1879 in Dur-Katlimmu (modern Sheikh Hamad) in Syria. It was formed in basalt to commemorate a military achievement of King ... regarding when or how the stele fragment had left Syria. They only reported the artifact as having been gifted “from father to ...

A group of archaeologists digging at the site of Ziyaret Tepe in southeastern Turkey, has uncovered a unique cuneiform tablet that narrates a tale of exasperation and disappointment reported by an ancient Assyrian official.

... and cultural sites in Efrin, one of the richest areas in Syria.” Video of destroyed site: Most Important Monument ... recognized as one of the most important monuments built in Syria by the Syro-Hittites or Neo-Hittites, an ancient Northwest Semitic tribal ...

... such as Tell Brak were already being built in ancient Syria at the same time. This has led some archaeologists to suggest that ... or simultaneously in the north, suggesting that ancient Syria is another center where civilization emerged independently, alongside ...

Before the famed Persian Empire, whose borders spanned from India to Thrace, there was another empire—the Assyrians. The Assyrian Empire, while much smaller than the future Persian Empire to come, made up for its lack of territorial mass with a well-greased, organized fighting machine.

Assyrian sappers (soldiers for building, demolitions, general construction) would approach the walls possibly under the cover of shield bears, the same type that protected the archers one could suspect. If they had no such protection, the Assyrian king made sure his specialized troop had the armor needed to get the job done.

Nabopolassar was the founder of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which existed between the 7th and 6th centuries BC. But the Neo-Assyrians that were losing power at the time didn’t make his rise easy. If the rebel ruler wanted to gain control he’d have to fight for it. Thankfully for him, the gods were apparently on his side.

When scholars study the history of the ancient Near East, several wars that had extremely brutal consequences (at least by modern standards) often stand out. Forced removal of entire populations, sieges that decimated entire cities, and wanton destruction of property were all tactics used by the various peoples of the ancient Near East against each other, but the Assyrians were the first people to make war a science.

The fall of Assyria was with a whimper and in no way ended with a bang. Instead, it ended in a slow, agonizing death. Ashurbanipal, Assyria's last great king, ascended the throne only to inherit a storm forming on the horizon. From the time he became king until his death, wars and revolts were commonplace throughout his empire. One could easily speculate that Ashurbanipal in fact died from pure exhaustion due to the series of wars he led. His army was stretched, exhausted, and depleted from conducting military operations.

... of the museum. Zenobia, the Warrior Queen of Palmyra, Syria Erasing History: Why Islamic State is Blowing Up Ancient Artifacts ... over his city from the Syrian regime. Palmyra, Syria. (James Gordon/ CC BY 2.0 ) Takeover of Palmyra by ISIS As ...

In 660 BCE, mighty Assyria was about to be shaken. A Scythian named Dugdammi united many nomadic tribes into a confederation. This nomadic confederation pushed at the borders of Assyria which so frightened King Ashurbanipal that they felt Assyria had finally met its equal.

Assyria, like Mesopotamia in general, has always excited the Western imagination. Assyrian beliefs about the spiritual world are no exception. The Assyrians believed that ghosts could return from the afterlife if not properly buried or if they had suffered a traumatic or unnatural death to haunt, harass, and even possess the living. Elaborate exorcisms had to be performed to expel or drive away the malevolent ghosts.

Ninurta was a Mesopotamian deity associated with war, agriculture, and the scribal arts. He could be thought of as a defender of civilization against chaos. Ninurta was originally revered in southern Mesopotamia and later in the north under the Assyrian kings. He remained a prominent deity until the fall of the Assyrian Empire. His primary symbol was the plow.

The discovery of more than a thousand sites in Syria has revised our understanding of the settlement of the steppes during all ...
The discovery of more than a thousand sites in Syria has revised our understanding of the settlement of the steppes during all ...

Over the years, researchers uncovered some remarkable Assyrian gates which led to different areas in the ancient city of Imgur-Enlil, now called Balawat, in Iraq. The huge gates were built during the times of the powerful Assyrian kings Ashurnasirpal II and Shalmaneser III. These two kings reigned between 883 and 824 BC and their authority provided one of the greatest periods in the history of Assyria. What was it like to pass through the elaborately decorated gates that were used by such influential ancient kings?

Viral Articles

The Paiutes, a Native-American tribe indigenous to parts of Nevada, have an oral tradition that they told to early white settlers of the area about a race of red-haired, white giants or ‘barbarians’...

There are many stone artifacts from the ancient world made from the hardest stone on the planet such as granite and diorite, which have been cut and shaped with such quality, precision and accuracy that the standard explanations of their manufacture are simply inadequate.

Myths & Legends

The Paiutes, a Native-American tribe indigenous to parts of Nevada, have an oral tradition that they told to early white settlers of the area about a race of red-haired, white giants or ‘barbarians’...

Ancient Technology

There are many stone artifacts from the ancient world made from the hardest stone on the planet such as granite and diorite, which have been cut and shaped with such quality, precision and accuracy that the standard explanations of their manufacture are simply inadequate.

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